And on the wheelchair basketball pitch, the United States men’s team beat Germany 58-52 while the women play Spain on Thursday afternoon, with both male and female US sides aiming to defend their golds from Rio 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later this week, Brazilian sprinter Petrucio Ferreira Dos Santos — sometimes called the “Usain Bolt” of para athletics — is hoping to become the fastest Paralympian in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He’ll compete on Friday in the men’s T47 100m, after winning gold at Rio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fastest athlete in Paralympic history is Ireland’s Jason Smyth, whose ultra-speedy time of 10.46 seconds secured gold in the T13 100m at London 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

kaf\/sah\/mtp<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The youngest Paralympian in Tokyo took to the pool on Thursday looking to change attitudes to disability, as powerlifting and equestrian events kicked off on the second day of competition. In a reminder of the continuing risks posed by the pandemic, organisers said another two athletes had tested positive for the virus in the Paralympic Village, but insisted the Games would remain safe. Australia lead the medal table with six golds after an action-packed first day that saw nine world records broken — six in track cycling and three in swimming. They are closely followed by China, which have won […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[549],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n